Wireless Consulting Expertise

Introduction to Cisco's Aironet Line of Wireless APs
Cisco's popular Aironet line of Wi-Fi access points has developed in concert with Wi-Fi technology and has steadily offered improvements in performance, density, coverage, data protection, manageability and reliability. Current Aironet Wave 2 Wi-Fi APs support up to 400 users each and deliver transfer rates of more than 5 Gbps. Networks of Aironet access points implemented with Cisco's Prime Infrastructure design model enable you to build multi-site Wi-Fi LANs with up to 18,000 access points serving as many as 64,000 clients, all under centralized management. Progent's Cisco CCIE-certified Wi-Fi consultants can provide online or on-premises consulting and debugging services to help you to plan, install, upgrade, optimize, monitor and troubleshoot Aironet Wi-Fi environments of any scale, in-building or outside.

Progent's Cisco CCIE wireless network infrastructure experts offer online or onsite configuration and troubleshooting support to assist you to plan, configure, update, tune, manage and debug Aironet Wi-Fi access point environments of any size or architecture. Progent's Cisco Wi-Fi controller consultants can also help you to integrate your wireless environment with your wired network infrastructure and cloud-based resources to build an enterprise connectivity foundation that is easy to manage and scale. Progent also offers affordable Wi-Fi site surveys to help you to determine the most appropriate selection, location and configuration of Aironet wireless APs to accommodate your unique office layout, construction, and expected network traffic.

Cisco Aironet Wave 2 Indoor Wireless Access Points
Cisco's Aironet Wave 2 Wi-Fi access points feature significant enhancements compared to the first releases of 802.11ac devices, known as Wave 1. Enhancements include 2.34 Gbps instead of 1.3 Gbps in the 5 GHz band, multi-user MIMO for transmitting data to multiple devices , better signal coverage and scale, and the ability to use 160-MHz-wide channels and/or an additional spatial stream to enhance throughput and support more functionlity. For high-density wireless deployments, nearly all Aironet Wave 2 wireless APs support Cisco Mobility Express, which allows 50 to 100 access points to be configured rapidly without the help of a Cisco wireless controller appliance. Progent can help you to evaluate the business advantages of replacing your Wave 1 or older Aironet Wi-Fi APs and can also assist you to design, implement and administer a Wave 2 Aironet Wi-Fi access point network that delivers maximum business value.

The Cisco Aironet 1810W Series Wi-Fi APs are low-profile Wave 2 wall-plate-mountable APs intended for use in multi-dwelling units such as hotels and cruise ships. The Cisco Aironet 1810W features Dual 2.4 and 5 GHz radios and a Bluetooth radio, features 2x2 MU-MIMO technology with two spatial streams, and supports an aggregate transfer rate of 867-Mbps and a maximum user count of 400. The Aironet 1810W comes with three local Gigabit Ethernet connections including one with Power over Ethernet Out for powering a device like an IP handset, printer or surveillance camera. Cisco's Aironet 1818 adds a 10/100/1000BASE-T Power over Ethernet uplink interface and a pass-through RJ-45 connection. The Aironet 1810 OfficeExtend Series access point is a Wave 2 802.11ac unit that features a mounting cradle and is designed to provide secure Wi-Fi access for telecommuters and branch office workers. Cisco's Aironet 1810W Series OfficeExtend AP needs to be attached to a remote wireless network controller, which allows easy unified management of policies and avoids the hassle of setting up home-based or remote-office firewalls. The Cisco Aironet 1810 OfficeExtend Series features the same performance and connections as the Aironet 1810W Wi-Fi access point.

The Aironet 1815 Series Wi-Fi access points are low-cost, low-profile Wave 2 appliances designed for small and medium-size businesses. The series is made up of four versions which address different usage scenarios. The 1815i wireless access point has flexible alternatives for wall or ceiling mount. The 1815w wireless AP is a desktop device. The 1815t wireless access point features three Gigabit Ethernet ports to support telecommuters or workers in a small branch office; and the Cisco 1815m Wi-Fi access point offers extra transmission power for better signal coverage. All products in Cisco's 1815 Wireless AP series feature dual radios (2.4/5 GHz) and 2x2 multi-user MIMO supporting two spatial streams. All except the 1815t wireless access point can be administered with Cisco Mobility Express software. Only the 1815t Wi-Fi access point works with OfficeExtend. Each 1815 Wi-Fi access point offers an aggregate transfer rate of 1 Gbps and can handle up to 400 clients. All versions except the 1815t feature a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio, and only the 1815t includes a USB interface and offers the option of Power over Ethernet (PoE) or AC/DC power.

Cisco's Aironet 1830 Series wireless access point is intended for small and mid-size wireless networks and includes 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radios, features 3x3 multi-user MIMO supporting two spatial streams, includes a 10/100/1000BASE-T RJ-4 Ethernet port with Power over Ethernet, delivers an aggregate data transfer rate of 867-Mbps on the 5-Ghz radio, and can handle up to 400 users. Cisco's 1830 Series Wi-Fi access point also supports a BLE radio via a USB dongle. The BLE radio can be used for applications like navigation, proximity marketing, and inventory.

The Cisco Aironet 1850i Wi-Fi AP is intended for small and mid-sized companies and features 4x4 MU-MIMO technology with up to four spatial streams (when in single-user MIMO mode, three spatial streams in multiuser mode), incorporates a Gigabit Ethernet Power over Ethernet (PoE) interface, a GE interface for link aggregation, and an RJ-45 management console port. The Aironet 1850i Wi-Fi AP supports a total aggregate dual-radio data transfer rate of 2.0 gigabits/sec and a maximum client count of 400. A Bluetooth radio can be added to the 1850i Series wireless access point by using a USB dongle.

The Cisco Aironet 2800 Series wireless AP is intended for large companies and can maximize performance by dynamically assigning its dual radios as one 2.4 and one 5 GHz radio or as two 5 GHz radios, delivering combined performance as high as 5 Gbps. Cisco's Aironet 2800 Wi-Fi access point features 4x4 MU-MIMO technology with three spatial streams and can serve as many as 400 Wi-Fi users. An extra antenna connector accommodates difficult sites such as high-ceiling auditoriums, libraries and cafeterias. Cisco's 2800 Wi-Fi access point features two GE interfaces and an RJ-45 management console interface. A Bluetooth radio can be connected by using a USB dongle.

The Aironet 3800 Wave 2 Wi-Fi access points are designed for crowded environments such as large offices or warehouses. The Aironet 3800 offers three different antenna options. The Aironet 3800i has internal antennas, the 3800e has external antennas, and the 3800p offers high-power external antennas to support high-density indoor scenarios like arenas and convention centers. All 3800 series wireless APs support 4x4 MU-MIMO supporting three spatial streams, and their two radios can operate in 2.4-GHz/5-GHz mode or in Dual 5-GHz 802.11ac mode. Total throughput can be as high as 5.2 Gbps in Dual 5-GHz 802.11ac mode. Cisco's Aironet 3800 wireless access point can serve as many as 400 clients and has two 100/1000/2500/5000 Multigigabit Ethernet interfaces, one 100/1000BASE-T RJ-45 auxiliary port, and an RJ-45 management console interface.

The Aironet 4800 wireless access point, designed for large organizations in need of high performance and advanced security, is the top of the line of Cisco's Aironet family, incorporating dual 2.4 and 5 GHz or dual 5 GHz radios and 4x4 MU-MIMO supporting three spatial streams. Cisco's 4800 wireless AP can support up to 400 Wi-Fi users. The device comes with two Multigigabit Ethernet ports, one RJ-45 management console interface, and a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio. By having a fourth radio, The Cisco 4800 wireless AP can assign core Aironet operations across more radios so they can execute simultaneously. These key functions include built-in Flexible Radio Assignment, Hyperlocation, and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). The Cisco 4800 wireless AP's fourth internal radio adds advanced security and deep analytics for throughput and location. Using four radios also enables the two Wi-Fi radios with Flexible Radio Assignment to run in 5 GHz client serving mode, supporting 5.2 Gbps Wi-Fi throughput and expanding client capacity.

Aironet Wave 1 Indoor Wi-Fi APs
The Wi-Fi 802.11ac standard operates in the 5-GHz band, utilizes 80-MHz channels for higher performance, and allows Wi-Fi radios to use spectrum more efficiently, send data faster, and relinquish spectrum more rapidly than earlier Wi-Fi standards. This improves speed, mitigation, scalability, and hand-offs for high-density wireless deployments. Although the 802.11ac specification was approved in the beginning of 2014, Cisco designed crossover Aironet 802.11ac APs before then. These transitional devices offer many of the key benefits of the 802.11ac standard and Cisco refers to them as Wave 1 access points. Cisco's Wave 1 dual-band Aironet access points incorporate 2.4 GHz radios to accommodate earlier generation client devices.

Cisco's entry-level Aironet 1700 Series is an economical wireless access point based on 802.11ac Wave 1 technology, offers 3x3 MIMO equalization with two spatial streams, delivers a rate of 867 Mbps, and can handle up to 200 client devices. Cisco's Aironet 2700 Series is a wall-mountable wireless access point designed for midsize or large enterprises and features four internal or external antennas. The Cisco 2700 Series wireless AP has a 3x4 MIMO radio with three spatial streams, delivers a top connection rate of 1.3 Gbps, and supports 200 802.11ac clients and 128 802.11n clients. The Aironet 3700 Series Wi-Fi access points are wall-mountable devices available with an internal antenna, an external antenna, or in a special Aironet 3700p version with a narrow-beam-width, high-gain antenna. Cisco's 3700 Series Wi-Fi access point has a 4x4 MIMO radio design with three spatial streams and supports a top connection rate of 1.3 Gbps. The modular construction of the 3700 Series wireless access point supports Cisco's Wireless Security add-on module and the 3G Small Cells module.

Cisco Aironet 802.11n Indoor wireless AP
The 802.11n specification made it realistic for people to use Wi-Fi as their main LAN connection, delivering 390 Mbps data rates and single-user MIMO in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands. Cisco offers a portfolio of wireless APs powered by this popular Wi-Fi technology. Progent offers remote and on-premises consulting and troubleshooting expertise for Cisco's current 802.11n Wi-Fi access points as well as legacy Aironet devices, and Progent can assist your organization to determine the benefit to your company of upgrading from your outdated AP environment to the new line of 802.11ac wireless access points.

Cisco's Aironet 700W Series Wi-Fi AP is an 802.11n device intended for multi-dwelling sites such as college dorms and can be installed on a wall junction box. The dual-radio Aironet 700W has 2x2 MIMO and two spatial streams, can handle 100 wireless clients, comes with four 10/100/1000BASE-T ports (one with PoE), and offers data rates as high as 300 Mbps. The Aironet 1600 Series is a value-priced wireless access point intended for small organizations and includes 802.11n-based 3x3 MIMO with two spatial streams, can handle 128 wireless users, and delivers data rates as high as 300 Mbps. Cisco's Aironet 2600 Series Wi-Fi AP is designed for high-density environments and features 802.11n-based 3x4 MIMO with three spatial streams, supports 200 wireless clients, and can handle data rates up to 450 Mbps.

Cisco Aironet Outdoor and Ruggedized Wireless Access Points
Cisco's Aironet family of Wi-Fi access points includes Wave 2, Wave 1, and 802.11a/b/g/n APs designed to be deployed in outdoor sites that range municipalities to severe industrial sites like transportation, mining, or oil and gas. Progent's Wi-Fi consultants can assist you to select, configure and administer Aironet outdoor and ruggedized wireless APs to fit your technical needs and budget. Progent's security experts can also help you to specify and enforce policies for your outside wireless infrastructure or test and validate the security profile of your Aironet Wi-Fi APs.

Cisco's Aironet 1530 Series outdoor 802.11b/g/n wireless APs are Wave 1 dual-radio, carrier-grade devices offered in an IP67-compliant enclosure resistant to dust particles, moisture, vibration and temperature extremes. The wireless APs have a GE port and a GE uplink interface and support performance of up to 300 Mbps. The Aironet 1530I includes built-in antennas and has 3x3:2 MIMO (multiple input multiple output) technology with three spatial streams on the 2.4 GHz radio and 2x3 MIMO with two spatial streams on the 5GHz radio. The Aironet 1530E outdoor wireless AP offers 2x2 MIMO and two spatial streams on each radio and includes software-configurable dual- or single-band external antennas.

Cisco's Aironet 1540 Series outdoor wireless access point is a Wave 2 unit that provides data rates of up to 867-Mbps on the 5 GHz radio. This allows maximum data rate of up to 1.1 Gbps. The 1540 wireless access point features 2x2 MU-MIMO and allows two spatial streams. For networks with up to 50 wireless access points, you can run Cisco Mobility Express Solution control software for fast and easy configuration without the need for a Cisco wireless Wi-Fi controller appliance. Among Cisco's smallest footprint outdoor Wi-Fi APs with internal antennas, the 1540 is offered with either a directional or a semi-omni directional antenna, providing versatility in selecting antenna patterns appropriate for handling different usage scenarios.

Cisco's Aironet 1552S outdoor/industrial wireless AP is intended for hazardous sites like refineries and has a built-in ISA100-compliant backbone router to interface with wireless sensor networks, providing an complete solution for wireless user support and access to sensor devices. The Aironet 1552WU is packaged in a Class 1 hazardous location-certified enclosure, supports 2:3 MIMO and two spatial streams, delivers performance as high as 300 Mbps, and includes a GE connection, a 10/100/1000 BaseT interface, and a fiber SP uplink connection. Cisco's Aironet 1552WU Wi-Fi AP is designed for dangerous environments and includes a built-in WirelessHART gateway for communicating wirelessly with industrial sensor equipment. The Aironet 1552WU Wi-Fi access point comes in a hazardous location-certified enclosure, supports 2:3 MIMO and two spatial streams, delivers data rates of up to 300 Mbps, and provides Gigabit Ethernet and 10/100/1000 BaseT uplink choices.

Aironet 1562 model outdoor wireless APs are offered with three antenna options to meet various usage conditions. The high-performance 1562I Wi-Fi AP has integrated omnidirectional antennas for conventional venues such as a school campus. The 1562E has powerful external omni antennas for sites such as outside warehouses or malls where customers can select the required signal coverage. The Cisco Aironet 1562D Wi-Fi AP features a built-in directional antenna suitable for high-density sites or for environments that require wireless bridging such as parks or stadiums. All three 1562 models can handle up to 400 Wi-Fi clients, offer 48 VDC and PoE power, and feature fiber Small-Form-Factor Pluggable (SP) optics and cable modem backhaul. The Aironet 1562E and 1562D units incorporate 2x2 MU-MIMO technology with 2 spatial streams and support data rates of up to 867 Mbps. The 1562I features 3x3 MU-MIMO with 3 spatial streams and supports data rates of up to 1,300 Mbps.

The Cisco Aironet 1570 Series is an enterprise-class wireless AP that was at introduction the fastest performing outdoor Wi-Fi access point available. The 1570 comes with internal or external antennas, incorporates 4x4 MIMO technology with three spatial streams, delivers performance of up to 1.3 Gbps, and has Fiber/SFP, GE, and Cable Modem uplink ports. Models include the Aironet 1572EAC with an external antenna with AC-power, the Aironet 1572IC which includes integrated antennas with cable modem, and the Aironet 1572EC which includes an external antenna with cable modem.

Cisco's Aironet Industrial Wireless 3700 (IW3700) Series is the first industrial/outdoor Wi-Fi AP to provide 4x4 MIMO technology with three spatial streams and beamforming. The Wave 1 IW3700 Wi-Fi AP has a hardened IP67-rated housing, incorporates a dual-band radio compatible with 802.11ac (5 GHz) and 802.11n (2.4 GHz) standards, delivers aggregate data rates as high as 1.3 Gbps, and supports a maximum of 200 users.

Legacy Aironet Wi-Fi APs Supported by Progent
The dramatic enhancements in Wi-Fi performance and capacity driven by 802.11ac technology, coupled with the proliferation of BYOD users using high-bandwidth apps with streaming video, has made older families of wireless infrastructure products out of date. Although many organizations run Wi-Fi applications that are well served by existing 802.11n networks, the fact that end-of-life Wi-Fi infrastructure appliances such as access points have reached, or are soon to reach, end-of-support status can have important consequences for compliance, the ongoing access to technical assistance, and the challenge of downstream expansion.

Progent's Cisco-certified wireless solutions experts offer a full range of consulting support services to help organizations of all sizes maintain and troubleshoot their legacy Aironet solution, evaluate the potential benefits for upgrading to the newest family of Aironet access points, and design an affordable strategy to upgrade seamlessly to a cohesive Wi-Fi solution that provides the speed. performance, protection, manageability and reliability expected of a modern Wi-Fi ecosystem. Some of legacy Aironet access points for which Progent can provide remote and onsite expertise include:

Aironet 1000 or 1130AG Series APs are designed for conventional workplaces and other sites which have minimal environmental variability. These devices have integrated antennas that offer predictable radio coverage patterns. The Aironet 1130G Series WAP is engineered for controlled domains that do not permit 5GHz transmission.

Cisco Aironet 1230AG/1240AG Series access points are designed for more difficult radio frequency situations such as manufacturing plants and warehouses or above suspended ceilings which commonly require adjustable external antennas and rugged metal enclosures. The 1240G Series AP is intended for restricted domains that do not allow 5GHz operation.

Aironet 1500 family lightweight outdoor wireless mesh LAN access points provide an economical, scalable, protected outdoor Wi-Fi solution for campus areas and for public venues that require access for portable phones or computers.

The Cisco Aironet 600 OfficeExtend Series wireless AP is an 802.11n device designed for telecommuters. The Cisco Aironet 600 Wi-Fi access point features a dual 2.4/5 GHz radio, incorporates 2x3 MIMO technology with two spatial streams, supports up to 15 Wi-Fi clients, and delivers data rates as high as 300 Mbps.

How Progent Can Assist You with Cisco Aironet Wireless APs
Progent offers affordable online or on-premises help from a Cisco-certified CCIE network expert to help you to plan, deploy, manage, tune, update or troubleshoot a Wi-Fi network that includes Cisco's Aironet wireless APs. Progent can help you manage and debug legacy Aironet devices or move efficiently to Cisco's current generation of Wave 2 Wi-Fi APs based on the 802.11ac specification. Progent's certified Cisco Wi-Fi controller experts can assist you to see whether your wireless deployment calls for Cisco Wi-Fi controller hardware or can be configured and maintained with software utilities such as Cisco Mobility Express.

Progent's online and on-premises wireless site surveys can help your organization to identify the most appropriate selection and location of Aironet Wi-Fi access points to handle your user density, provide the coverage you require, and deal with your critical workloads. Progent's certified cybersecurity consultants can assist you to plan, deploy and validate a compliant security strategy that includes network policies, remote network monitoring, and unified management. Progent's disaster recovery consultants and business continuity planning experts can help you to build fault-tolerance and recoverability into your Cisco product implementations to optimize the productivity of your converged wired/wireless infrastructure.

To learn about Progent's additional consulting and troubleshooting services for Cisco products, choose a topic:

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